From Theater to Product Operations - A SHINE Client's Transformational Journey
How Amanda Turned Her "Winding" Career Path Into Her Greatest Competitive Advantage
I love sharing success stories from our coaching programs, and Amanda's journey perfectly illustrates how personalized coaching can create profound career transformation.
Her experience is a powerful reminder that cultivating your career with intentionality, even when your path seems unconventional, truly works.
Before the Program: Questioning Everything
After four and a half years at a mental health tech startup, Amanda felt stuck in a Product Operations role that had shifted away from strategic work. She was questioning whether Product Management was even the right path.
"I'm even trying to figure out whether a return to product work is really what I want," she wrote in her initial intake form.
Her biggest challenge? She couldn't see how her diverse background connected to PM work. Theater arts, teaching, retail sales, various operations roles… it all felt scattered and irrelevant.
The Entrepreneurial Detour: Building Confidence
Within a month of our work together, Amanda made a decision that shocked us both. She quit her job to start her own product consulting business.
Her year and a half as an independent consultant was transformational in unexpected ways. Most importantly, it eliminated her imposter syndrome completely.
"My imposter syndrome, she's gone somehow because you can't be an imposter when you're making it up as you go along," Amanda explained.
By the end of her consulting period, she had replaced her corporate salary and gained unshakeable confidence in her abilities.
The Strategic Return: Choosing Vision Over Vanity
When Amanda decided to return to corporate work, she had two offers:
A Senior Product Manager role with better pay and prestigious title
A Product Data Analyst position with lateral salary move
Against conventional wisdom, she chose the analyst role.
Here's why it was a brilliant choice for her:
Experience with data-driven product decisions (addressing a skill gap she'd identified)
Direct collaboration with product leadership
A clear path toward her actual goal: Product Operations Leadership
A team that genuinely invested in her career growth
"I knew what I wanted to be doing in one to two years, and I knew that this role would help me get there," Amanda explained.
Four months in, she's already being tapped for higher-visibility projects and building exactly the skills she needs.
What Life Looks Like Now
"I couldn't be happier," Amanda shares. "I feel seen and treated like a person. I feel very much like this was the right choice."
She's also applying lessons from our work:
Networking consistently instead of staying in tunnel vision mode
Building relationships that led to her current opportunity
Thinking strategically about skill development and career moves
Maintaining confidence in her unique background and capabilities
Your Journey, Accelerated
Amanda's story is a powerful reminder that you don't have to navigate your career alone.
Her transformation from questioning her path to building a thriving consulting business to landing a strategically perfect role happened because she had support, structure, and accountability.
Whether you're feeling stuck in your current PM role like Amanda was, or you're trying to break into Product Management for the first time, personalized coaching can help you see possibilities you might be missing and create a strategic plan to get there.
Your non-linear path isn't a bug, it's your competitive advantage. The question is: are you ready to use it? 🌱
Ready to transform your career journey like Amanda did? Learn more about our coaching programs and take the next step toward your the clarity and confidence you need.
